 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
April 2005 Trip - Page 2 |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
From Picacio Peak we drpve north through the Phoenix mess and on to Cottonwood and Dead Horse Ranch state park. It is really a nice park, situated in the Verde Valley. From our campsite we could see mountains all around us, the lights of the old mining town perched on the side of a mountain at night, and the pueblo ruins on a high bluff at Tzuigoot National Monument. We met up with our friends, and then went around in their tow car seeing the area. |
|
|
|
Click on an image for larger view |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
this is the flower of the Ocotillo plant. They were in bloom at Picacio Peak, and we have about 5 in our back yard. |
|
We drove up to Jerome, an old mining town that became a ghost town when the mines went bust. It later became a hippie mecca, and then started turning into a place of shops and galleries. The buildings are all on steep hills and the roads are 'interesting'. |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
We went to Montezumas Castle National Monument which is about 25 miles from the state park. It was nmed by a cowboy, thinking it had something to do with the Incas. It was occupied by pueblo Indians in the 1300's. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nearby is Montezuma Well National Monument. In the 1300's there were up to 8000 Native Americans living in the Verde Valley. Some lived in cliff dwellings in the large sinkhole that had a permanent source of water from springs. The flow went through cracks in the walls of the well and came out below the hill where the people used the water to irigate crops. |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
This is Tuzigoot National Monument, within view of the state park. It is on a ridge overlooking the Verde River. The people that lived here in the 1300's grew crops on the flats next to the river below. This place had a commanding view of the valley. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
After a week of visiting the area with our friends Jim & Diana, we took off back towards home, and Jim & Diana were heading north to Flagstaff. |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
On the way back we stopped for a night so we could see if the Saguaro cactus were blooming more than the week before. We have always wanted to see the giant Saguaro in bloom. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Saguaro blooms at the tips of it's arms and the top of the main stem. Since these cactus get up to 50' tall, it's not easy to find ones you can get a good picture of. |
|